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Happy Sunday nerderinos! It's
snowing right now and, while the precipitation itself looks very dramatic,
there's been minimal accumulation. Despite this, the GIR and I have been
treating the weekend as though we've been snowed in. The past two weeks have
been chock full of changes (all of them good, some of them fuzzy) so it's been
very nice to have the opportunity to sit back and enjoy a mellow, cozy few
days. Being at home has also allowed for some progress to be made on my costume
for PAX, which is especially excellent given that we're now less than three
months out from the convention. There will be posts on that over the next few
weeks but, for now, on to the Week in Geekdom!

Games

If you've been reading the blog
for a little while, you may recall that Klei Entertainment is one of our
favorite indie developers. So it was a special treat to get not one, but two
announcements from the studio this week. First on the docket is this brief
regarding the first DLC for Don't Starve.
The expansion, titled Reign of Giants, does not yet have a
definite release date, but Klei assures us that we'll get our clicky paws on
the material later this year. Until then, we'll have to console ourselves with
the base game and this preview video.

Colony Collapse Disorder has been
a problem of increasing severity for bee species around the globe. The CSIRO,
when not occupied building dragons, has developed these tiny bee-mounted sensors
in the hopes of shedding some light on this conundrum.

The past few weeks have been
brutally cold for much of North America, but Earth is certainly not alone in
its ability to produce polar vortices. Check out these images of polar vortices
as they occur in our solar system compatriots.

It has been far, far too long
since the Care and Feeding of Nerds has featured a cosplay post. Just the
notion of writing about costumes was enough to make me a giddy, grinning,
hopeless case. Realistically it's been about seven months since I've done any
work with costumes and just under a year since a convention-level piece
swallowed up the majority of the floor space in our office. In the grand scheme
of things that's not a terribly long time, particularly when I'm always going
on about Lorenz transformations and wondering how the passage of time seems to
hasten every year. Still, a year without cosplay left me with a considerable
sartorial jones that will finally be addressed.

Last March, the runaway hit of PAX East was the playable demo for Transistor.
In the 10 months since, Supergiant Games has been working tirelessly to perfect
the alpha and have the title ready for release later this year. During that
same period I have been completely unable to get the demo out of my head.
Everything about the game: the mechanics, the premise, the color scheme, the
sci-fi/noir setting and the soundtrack...good gravy...the soundtrack. Add to all that a capable heroine with oodles of
narrative potential and a personal respect for Supergiant's attempt to self-publish and I was 110% sold. Given all that, the very first entry on the
2014 cosplay docket will be Red from Transistor.

Construction on the actual
costume began about three months ago, but it has been somewhat slow-going as
the holidays and life in general sought to interpose. Such is the benefit of
getting an early start that I'm now, less than three months out, not scrambling
to complete pieces. Yay for the cosplay lineup!

As with every character I attempt
to re-create, the next step after making the initial selection is to thoroughly
catalogue all the components of the costume in the source material. With Red, I
had two outfits to choose from: her floor-length evening gown from the earliest
scenes of the game and the tattered remnants of that gown that she dons for the
majority of actual play. I've chosen to make the latter, as this is what Red wears
during all the action and it seemed like the more interesting of the two
options.

Red's primary costume consists of
the following: a short goldenrod-colored dress with a fairly ragged hemline and feathered collar, a
black corset-bodice, thigh-high stockings and knee high boots, a black or dark brown coat with a elbow-length sleeves and, last but certainly not least, the eponymous
Transistor sword. Upcoming posts on the costume will be divided into
dress/bodice/coat, sword, and accessories. The dress and bodice are mostly
complete, but this entry is going to focus on Red's physical features so I can
post complete procedurals on the other pieces once they're entirely done.

From the demo and what artwork has been released to date, we see that Red is a young woman with short, deep
red hair and bright blue eyes. She wears her hair in a sideswept, tustled way
akin to the bobbed styles popular during the American Jazz Era. If you happen
to have bright red hair (or can otherwise attain that color), you can achieve
this look for yourself by setting your hair in pincurls, then deconstructing
the curls and combing them around your head. If your hair is not that striking
scarlet hue or you'd rather not spend a night with dozens of bobby pins stuck
to your head then a wig is probably the best course of action.

There haven't been too many
mentions of wigs on the blog and that's largely because I tend to avoid wearing
them. That's not to say that wigs aren't excellent additions to a costume, just
that there are some considerations to take before incorporating them into your
costume.

Wig Pros

- Wigs come in an unfathomably
diverse array of colors, lengths, and styles. In the vast majority of cases it
is exponentially easier to slip on a wig than to try and get the same look
with your natural hair.

- Wigs generally hold a style and
accessories better than your natural hair, as they are designed and textured
for just this purpose. Also, since you'll likely be wearing a cap as well, they
aren't impacted by your body's unique chemistry or things like sweat.

-You can 'pre-style' a wig well in advance of a convention, which
translates into more free time for you on the actual day of the event.

- The myriad of color options and
feasible styles allow for a high degree of precision in your cosplay. A wig can
allow you to very closely approximate certain characters or species.

- Thanks to the magic of the
internet you can get good quality, highly versatile pieces for very reasonable
prices.

Wig Cons

- Actually wearing a wig can get
very uncomfortable, especially if it's been a few hours since you first put it
on. Unless you have short, obedient hair, you'll need to wear a cap beneath the
wig itself. This double layering can leave you very warm and/or irritate the
skin nearest the cap. If at all possible, take the wig off every 3-4 hours and
let your scalp breathe for 20-30 minutes.

- While many wigs can be
purchased for decent prices, those so priced are typically made of synthetic
hair. If, for whatever reason, you need or want a wig made of human hair be
prepared to pay a few hundred dollars.

- Wigs do hold styles well, but,
like your own hair, they can be easily crushed, matted or misshaped. If you
have to transport your wig you may want to either wait until you've arrived at
your destination to style the piece or invest in a hard carrying case
(tupperware works well for this!).

A last note on wigs: though it's
tempting to want to skip the wig cap, it ultimately makes wig wearing easier
and gives you a cleaner, neater finished look. They're also fairly inexpensive
and/or easy to make (just trim a length of cheap pantyhose or tights to pull
over your scalp).

Aside from her hair, Red's other
distinguishing physical feature are her piercing, almost electric blue eyes. If
you happen to have blue eyes, there are certain makeup applications that could
create a similar effect but we'll go into that in another post. If your eyes
aren't blue colored contacts are likely going to be necessary.

Colored contacts have a bad
reputation built on horror stories of cheap lenses scratching corneas and
causing all sorts of ocular infections. Every so often one news outlet or
another will cobble together an expose on such lenses and introduce fresh panic
to the masses. So, do colored contacts deserve that public blight? Eh, yes and
no.

Are there plenty of sketchy
contacts on the market? Yes. Are there also good quality contacts that will
serve your cosplay needs? Yes. The key is to be able to discern between the
two. The easiest, safest method for procuring colored contacts is to obtain
them through a licensed manufacturer of standard prescriptive lenses. Acuvue,
FreshLook, and Lenscrafters all have lines of cosmetic colored lenses. The
catch: you need a prescription or at least the written approval of an eye care
professional. If you already wear glasses/contacts you can use your existing
prescription at any one of the above listed companies. Bonus: some of them will
even give you a free set of 30-day trial lenses!

If you don't have an eyewear
prescription or the major manufacturers don't make the color you need for your
cosplay (since the latter tends to only be offered in a limited range of hues)
then your best bet is to branch out to internet purveyors. This is where things
could potentially get dicey, but there are reputable sites to be found. NEVER ever ever buy lenses from
a Halloween or novelty store, a convenience store, or a street vendor.

I tend to favor Turtle Contacts
and Brilliant Contacts on the occasions that I've needed an eye color beyond
the standard human spectrum. Both sites use extremely high quality lenses, have
a very wide variety of colors available, and have excellent customer service.
Both vendors also have extensive usage FAQ sections that will walk you through
how to wear and care for your lenses. It is extremely important that you take the time to read all of
those sections. A significant number of the incidents of eye damage stemming
from the use of colored lenses can be attributed to improper care and
application.

Make sure you have multipurpose
contact solution and a sterile storage case on hand before your lenses arrive.
Both of these are usually pretty inexpensive and are available at most drug stores andsupermarkets. Follow all instructions for the
disinfection, storage, application and removal of lenses, especially if you've
never worn them before. Actually applying the lenses can be tricky and will
involve some practice. Be patient with yourself while you're getting the hang
of using the lenses and give yourself about a week to get comfortable applying
and removing them.

So now that you've got some
purchasing options there are a few things to consider before buying your
lenses.

- Do you naturally have
light eyes or dark eyes?

- Do you have an astigmatism?

- How drastic a change
do you want to make to your eye color?

If you have dark eyes
or you're going for a very drastic change from your natural color, then you
will want to limit your search to opaque lenses. As the name implies, opaques
will layer a new color or pattern entirely over your iris, covering your natural
hue completely. Aside from the density of the color, these are not materially
different from other colored lenses. These are your only option if you have
dark eyes and you'll want to look for the word 'opaque' or 'for dark eyes' in
the product description.

If you have lighter
eyes or want a less dramatic change from your natural color, then you have the
option to select translucent lenses. With translucents, the lens layers
semi-transparent color over your eyes, blending your natural hue with that of
the lens. Like the opaques, 'translucent' will likely appear in the product
description, though many sites will not explicitly list such lenses as being
for light eyes.

If you have an astigmatism, then
your options will be a bit more limited and you should stick to the
prescription-required lenses mentioned earlier. Your eye care professional may
be able to recommend vendors that will make custom lenses in non standard
colors. You should NOT try to wear
circle lenses unless you've been cleared by your eye care professional to do
so.

More cosplay updates to follow!
Here's to kicking off the 2014 cosplay season!

Important notes: None of the
above post should be considered medical advice and is not intended to treat or diagnose any medical condition. Colored contacts are used at your own risk. The author and Care
and Feeding of Nerds does not assume liability for any injury incurred while
using colored contact lenses. If you have any questions or concerns regarding
colored lenses, please consult a licensed eye care professional.

A little bit of fun news before
we kick off This Week in Geekdom: The Care and Feeding of Nerds family got a
little bit bigger today with the addition of Serenity. The GIR and I have been
considering pet ownership for the past few years and earlier today Serenity
selected us as her new owners. We look forward to many cat-assisted rolls in
future gaming sessions.

Sometimes playing around with
narratives to create alternate timelines is a fun, interesting way to expand a
franchise. For Dark Horse, there are definite limits to this sort of
recombination when you're working with something as weighty as Star Wars. Read
here for a description of the graphic novels that almost were, featuring a Sith Leia and Luke ruling the galaxy together.

Earlier this month, seven-year-old Sophie wrote to the
researchers at the CSIRO asking why they had not been able to produce any
dragons with their efforts. Initially, the scientists sent their apologies at
this grievous oversight. On Friday the CSIRO sent her this.

And 2014 is off and running! It's
been a very snowy start to the year, but these Hoth-like conditions have
provided ample opportunity to catch up on quite a bit (not least of which being
a return to a regular posting schedule). It's not quite a resolution, but I'm
determined to not let all the purchases of the recent Steam Winter Sale sit uninstalled and idle in my library and being snowed in is a perfect excuse to
game with impunity. Next week will kick off the cosplay posts for 2014 but, for
now, This Week in Geekdom!

Happy New Year from Mars! (courtesy of Curiosity)

Comics

To say Wolverine is well-known in the world of comics would
be just a bit of an understatement. But, was the concept for this infamous
member of the X-Men stolen and the creator left unaccredited for the past 4
decades? Bleeding Cool sought to find out.

2014 is shaping up to be a pretty
big year for the Merc with a Mouth. On Thursday Marvel released these teaser images
from what appears to be Deadpool's upcoming wedding. Whether this legitimately
part of the overarching Deadpool story arc or an elaborate prank on readers
(given the character and the non-specific April release date) remains to be
seen, but we'll learn the truth soon enough.

It was only a matter of time. The proclamation came down on Friday afternoon from Disney/LucasFilm that the
license for Star Wars comics was being withdrawn from long-time publisher Dark
Horse and given to the 'in house' producer of graphic novels: Marvel. Marvel will start releasing Star Wars comics beginning in 2015 to coincide with the release of Episode VII.

Science/Technology

Antarctica has gotten quite a bit
of press recently, but the frozen continent has yielded up more than
ship-entrapping ice in the past week. Technicians associated with the New
Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust have processed and carefully restored an
unearthed (or un-iced) set of 100-year-old negatives. Click here to glimpse some of the results.

While it's widely known that, 14
billion years after the Big Bang, the universe is still expanding. However, the
fact that this expansion is taking place at an increasing rate has long been a
source of consternation to physicists. Researcher Craig Hogan may have solved at
least part of this mystery. Read here for his conclusions, which may delineate
where quantum physics ends and cosmic physics begins.

Ford made waves in the
auto-making world this week with their announcement that they will be
engineering and releasing a hybrid concept car that will be at least partially
powered by photovoltaic cells. Additional details on this would-be solar car
will be released in the next few days during the International CES.

Pancreatic cancer is incredibly
challenging both to effectively detect and to treat. However, these
difficulties may soon be a thing of the past. The latest edition of the journal
PNAS details the potentially groundbreaking findings of scientists at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge
Institute.

When it comes time to tender your
resignation you could compose a letter
or go outside standard protocol. Avid Trekkie David Waddell chose the latter,
announcing his departure from the local legislature of a North Carolina town
with an announcement in Klingon.

Artist Luke Jerram's latest
collection is a unique blend of stunning visuals and harrowing pathology.
Jerram re-created some of the deadliest and most virulent microorganisms in
delicately hand-blown glass. The results are more than a bit surreal.

The snow on the ground right now
is too light and fluffy to make snowmen, but nerds in other cold weather
locales are not so afflicted. Check out these 30 snowmen based on characters
and scenes from Calvin & Hobbes.

I leave you all with this smile-inducing image of Sirs Ian
McKellan and Patrick Stewart celebrating the new year together. As always, best
wishes for an awesome week ahead!